Where will it take you?

Remember when you were a kid and would pretend to obtain information from something by scanning it with your hand? Or maybe goofing off with a grocery store scanner, “reading” something (or someone) far beyond item name and price? Amidst the steady stream of new smartphone apps comes the QR code, a scan-able code that automatically directs you to selected web content. The QR code was invented in Japan by Toyota subsidiary Denso-Wave in 1994, has been welcomed warmly by the Netherlands and South Korea, and finally seems to be picking up in the United States (1).

The futuristic sleuth feeling of using a QR code (What’s this? ZAP! A clue!) aside, QR codes allow the user to access specialized content that interests them – be it a home page, film trailer, sneak preview, secret map, menu – you name it. TFF will be using QR codes this summer to better link the stories and storytellers at the festival with our audience.

If you’re new to QR codes – I thought they were street art, exclusively, for quite a while – the first (and only) necessity is a camera phone with an app for scanning the codes. A review of QR apps may help you choose your app if your phone doesn’t already have one. When you’ve found your app, all you do is take a photo of said QR code and you will be directed to its related media – magic!

Stay tuned on TFF’s QR codes, and get excited for an amazing festival.

In 2006, Italian artist Frabrice de Nola painted the first work to incorporate a functional QR code (2).